E51: Why is it that the richest people in the world work the same hours as we do, yet they make way more money than we do? What are they doing differently? The answer lies in the concept of leverage. Today, host Yong-Soo Chung (@YongSooChung) takes us on a journey to uncover the secret behind the immense wealth and success of these successful entrepreneurs and reveals how they have been using leverage differently. Get ready to discover how you might be wasting valuable leverage without even...

E50: Let's be honest, change can be a real challenge for us entrepreneurs. It's like trying to catch a fast-moving aircraft without a ticket - it's confusing and can make you feel like you're just reacting, not steering your ship. This can lead to burnout, frustration, and missed opportunities. On today's episode, host Yong-Soo (@YongSooChung) chats with none other than the Master of Change and Best-Selling Author Brad Stulberg (@BStulberg). He shares some mind-blowing insights and...

E49: Have you ever wondered why your content isn't hitting the mark? You're putting in all the hard work, creating content day in and day out, yet it feels like you're just shouting into the wind. Frustrating, right? I get it. Because I've been there. I thought that just putting out great content would be enough to make me a success. But boy, was I wrong! I soon found myself posting into the void, while other creators seemingly effortlessly thrived. It was disheartening, to say the...

E48: Ever wonder how an "unsexy" business could lead to mind-blowing success? What if I told you someone turned a student self-storage idea into a multi-million dollar empire? Today, Yong-Soo Chung (@YongSooChung) chats with Nick Huber (@sweatystartup), the mastermind behind the Sweaty Startup brand, the brilliant mind behind Bolt Storage, and a holding company operator. This isn't just any ordinary conversation – it's a masterclass in turning "unsexy" ideas into gold mines and transforming...

E47: Have you ever wondered how some creators and entrepreneurs seem to achieve incredible results effortlessly while others struggle to gain traction? The answer lies in a concept that has revolutionized my approach to business – the Flywheel Effect. Today, host Yong-Soo Chung (@YongSooChung) dives deep into the concept of a flywheel and why every creator needs 3 types of flywheels in their business. On today’s episode, you’ll learn: - Three Types of Flywheels for Creators - How to Build...

E46: Ever find yourself stuck in the hamster wheel of creativity, pouring your heart into your craft, but struggling to turn a profit? It's a challenge many of us face – the journey from creator to successful entrepreneur can feel like an uphill battle. Get ready as Yong-Soo Chung (@YongSooChung) chats with Daren Smith (@DarenTSmith), the founder of Craftsman Creative, a film producer and the author of "Five Figure Creators Build Six-Figure Businesses." Daren shares his incredible story of...

E45: Have you ever wondered what sets successful founders and creators apart from the rest? The reality is, many budding entrepreneurs grapple with uncertainty, indecision, and the fear of failure. It's like navigating a maze blindfolded. Entrepreneurship isn't a walk in the park. It's a rollercoaster ride filled with challenges, doubts, and uncertainties. Yong-Soo Chung (@YongSooChung) shared his hard-earned insights, drawn from his experience of running three thriving businesses and...

E44: Ever wonder what it takes to skyrocket your newsletter from ground zero to an audience that hangs onto your every word? Many creators struggle with picking the perfect niche, nailing the right frequency, and snagging those elusive subscribers. But don't worry. Yong-Soo Chung (@YongSooChung) spoke to Matt McGarry (@JMatthewMcgarry), a newsletter expert and the mastermind behind the growth of some of the most successful newsletters out there including The Hustle, Milk Road, 1440 Media, and...

E43: 'X' formerly known as Twitter, has a new rival in town. Led by Mark Zuckerberg, Threads has taken the world by storm, and while the initial rush has died down a bit, its impressive launch is worth a deeper dive. A platform where conversations feel more personal, intimate, and casual, like catching up with an old friend over coffee. That's exactly what Threads brings to the table.  And believe me, it's a game-changer! On today’s episode, you’ll learn: Distinguishing Features of...

E42: Tyler Denk is the Founder & CEO of Beehiiv, an email service provider that's taking the newsletter industry by storm. If you are a regular listener, you already know that I use Beehiiv for the First Class Founders newsletter and I am incredibly happy with it. Tyler and I spoke about: His thoughts on the future of newslettersHis role as the Growth Engineer at Morning BrewHis first venture during his college days - VentureStormWhat separates the great newsletters from the rest of...

E41: Today, I reveal how I built my business, which generated $20 million in sales with my proprietary MAPS Framework – Mindset, Audience, Product, and Scaling. It's everything I know about entrepreneurship distilled down to one simple framework which you can use to build your own business. Today, I'll cover: My MAPS Framework and its ComponentsWhy Developing a Winning Mindset is ImportantHow to Build the Right Audience For Your BusinessWhy Creating a Clear Mission at the Beginning is...

E40: What would you learn if you had the chance to speak to over 2,000 startup entrepreneurs including the founders of Airbnb, Reddit, and Zapier? We are talking to Andrew Warner, the serial entrepreneur, storyteller, podcast host, and author extraordinaire. After conducting over 2,000 interviews from startup founders, Andrew recently published a book called "Stop Asking Questions!" which I read from cover to cover. I invited him on the podcast so I could… ask him a LOT of questions. During...

E39: Imagine your work has contributed to a quarter billion dollars in sales. You read that right. Quarter of a billion dollars. That’s $250 million. Today, we’re joined by Colin Chung, a copywriter who not only knows how to write amazing direct response copy, but he knows how to get the largest clients in the business. Over the last 15 years, Colin’s clients include: Agora, Jim Kwik, John Carlton, Brian Tracy, and Ava Jane’s Kitchen. He’s the unsung hero behind many of YOUR favorite...

E38: Want to know how the top 0.1% of creators grow their newsletter? Today, we’re joined by Chenell Basilio, the creator behind Growth in Reverse. Growth in Reverse is a newsletter that deep dives into newsletter creators with over 50,000 subscribers. Chenell spends over 40 hours per week researching one creator each week. During my conversation with Chenell, she didn’t hold anything back. On today’s episode, you’ll learn: What Chenell’s Research Process Looks LikeHow to Build Your Tribe...

E37: Khe Hy and I have A LOT in common. Khe is also the son of immigrant parents.  And like me, Khe also decided to quit his Wall Street finance job to venture off into entrepreneurship. My conversation with Khe proved to be incredibly illuminating and I found his life to be a rich treasure trove of stories and life-lessons. I spoke to Khe about his journey of becoming an entrepreneur: from being one of the youngest Managing Directors at the prestigious private equity firm BlackRock managing...

E36: What's it like to go from 0 to 300k+ followers in 2 years? Clint Murphy, the host and creator of The Growth Guide podcast and newsletter, did exactly that. Clint is the Chief Financial Officer at Mosaic Homes, a Real Estate Development company. But, what I’m most impressed by is Clint’s audience growth, which has skyrocketed over the past 2-3 years. Clint is a master at audience growth and lucky for you, I invited him on to this podcast to tell us all about it.  This is a masterclass in...

E35: Today, I am sharing my learnings growing my newsletter. I'll tell you five key lessons from my journey to getting 3,000 subscribers in just 5 months for the First Class Founders newsletter so that you don't have make costly mistakes. I'll lay out specific and actionable tips about what to look for while promoting your newsletter, how to spend your money wisely, where to spend your money wisely, and the one thing you need to have in your branding and messaging. Let's get down to...

E34: Today's episode is a masterclass in audience building by none other than podcast legend David Hooper. He's worked with big clients including AT&T, RunDMC, Victoria's Secret, and Fedex. David and I spoke at length about how his career shaped up over the years and discussed several things, such as how living and growing up in the Music City influenced his career, the long journey from a college radio host to podcast marketing consultant, ideas and strategies to grow a big audience,...

E33: Today's guest is Jennifer Phan, Founder & CEO of Passionfroot, a platform which is aiming to become the operating system for creators. Jennifer has worked with some of the biggest creators including Arvid Kahl, Michael Houck, and Ali Abdaal. Being at the epicenter of the creator economy, she knows a thing or two about becoming a successful creator. So, what are the secrets to becoming a successful creator? Let’s find out. *** SPONSOR: I love using Riverside.fm to record all...

E32: Sam Browne is a musician at heart and an entrepreneur by trade. Sam is also the founder of Haro SEO, which is a search engine optimization firm that involves getting backlinks from high quality domains by helping a reporter out. Sam is also a well known LinkedIn creator who grew from 500 to 50,000 followers in just one year. He's now planning a course for entrepreneurs on LinkedIn. So how does someone who started off as a musician become an entrepreneur skilled in such diverse...

E31: Have you ever wondered what it would be like to work FOREVER in the same industry where you got your first-ever job? Well, Matt Giovanisci doesn't need to imagine it. Because that is exactly what he has been doing since he was 13 years old. Over the years, Matt grew steadily within this industry and eventually ended up launching Swim University in 2006. Swim University caters to a very specific niche - homeowners with pools and hot tubs. According to their 'About' page, "Swim University...

E30: Ever since ChatGPT was released to the public, people have used it for a wide variety of interesting experiments. Today, I'm speaking to Jackson Fall, the man behind the recent success of HustleGPT. At the time of recording, Jackson's Twitter thread about HustleGPT, his unique entrepreneurial experiment with ChatGPT had nearly 16,000 retweets, 103,000 likes, and well over 22.5 million impressions. It created a sensation among founders and entrepreneurs and got noticed by CNN as well. I...

E29: Jeff Bezos, Founder of Amazon, is worth $125 Billion. And, the one thing he is famously known for is his "customer obsession." In fact, Amazon strives to be 'Earth's most customer-centric company.' And yet, my own experience revealed a different side of Amazon. Today, I want to take a slight detour and talk about an incident that happened to me, which had me re-evaluating my understanding of good customer service. Particularly, since it has to do with my interactions with Amazon, which...

E28: Jeremy is the Founder of Podcast Marketing Academy, which is a podcast growth and marketing company helping scrappy podcast centric brands, networks and creators punch above their weight. Today, I speak to him about the four key aspects of his excellent EAR$ framework: Exposure, Attraction, Retention, and Monetization. We also dig into how Jeremy implements them for his own content, and how you can implement them for your content. *** EXCERPTS: The Power of Newsletters: "I think...

E27: Three months ago, I decided to launch the First Class Founders newsletter. Problem is, I had no subscribers, no list, and, essentially, no idea what to do or, even, where to begin! Today, my newsletter has over two thousand subscribers. It has an open rate of 40% and a 10% click-through rate. In case you are wondering, yes, that IS indeed a high number. How did I achieve this? What did I do that was so effective? What's my secret sauce? Get ready to take notes because I plan to reveal...